


Tracks

by WolvZephyr



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Misunderstandings, Trains, i havent been on a traditional train before and it shows, outside of misaki and kaoru the others only show up briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 02:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18511840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolvZephyr/pseuds/WolvZephyr
Summary: Hello, Happy World! travels to their next concert via train.Even with only two people (and a bear costume) in the room, it's not a smooth ride.





	Tracks

**Author's Note:**

> i've been writing this on-and-off for a while, so it feels like two different things mashed together weirdly (lol)  
> still, i think it's good enough to post. yeet

Misaki can feel an unusual amount of weight against her side.

The glimpse of purple through the small field of vision Michelle affords her reveals the weight's identity: Kaoru, with her face in the bear suit's fur.

She must have said something that Misaki didn't hear. Hello, Happy World is travelling to a remote part of Japan for a concert, so the suits organized first-class private train cars. Normally, it's difficult to relax in such overwhelming displays of wealth, but the train ride is so long - and the mascot costume so warm - that Misaki started to doze off without realizing it.

It looks like Kaoru feels the same way, as her chest rises and falls steadily. 

Two reserved cars are divided between the members of the band. Kanon, Kokoro, and Hagumi are in the other car. Michelle and Misaki were considered separate entities. Originally, Kaoru was going to be in the other car and all of the instruments would be joining Misaki, but she had declared it "too lonely" and insisted on sharing a small room with a large mascot.

The suits would definitely wake them up, but Misaki still feels it's safer to have someone awake. She carefully sets Kaoru into a sitting position, and, after checking she's well and truly asleep, takes the bear suit off. With some maneuvering, Michelle leans against the opposite seat, next to a guitar. Instantly, the available space in the car is cut in half. The instruments are still here, after all.

Misaki sighs. If only Kaoru was smart. She swears that Kaoru still believes Santa Claus is real and that he legitimately visits the shopping mall every December, worker rotation be damned. Being incapable of comprehending people inside costumes isn't a big leap away from that. Seriously.

Kaoru snores abruptly. Misaki almost jumps. 

And then she actually does, because the train seems to run right over something scarily large and the entire box shakes like a rollercoaster. She hits her hip on the seat, but otherwise survives. With a death grip on the edge of the window, she thanks everyone involved that the instruments are properly fastened, or they'd both be dead. Michelle flops bonelessly onto the turntables.

Misaki would check on Kaoru, except that the train runs over something else - she really hopes it's not a body - and it knocks her legs out from under her, sending her sprawling. Kaoru hits the ground with a loud crash, yelping fearfully in a very ungraceful and unusually high manner. Still half-asleep and unable to comprehend why she has been assaulted by the floor, Kaoru's leg jerks at the same time. 

Misaki finds her feet kicked out a second time right as she tries to orient herself. "Damn—!" She swears, flailing her arms to catch herself before she knocks herself unconscious on Kanon's drum set.

Her hands find the ground before her knees can get bruised. She sighs in relief, and then regrets it. Kaoru, beyond all odds, is pinned under her like a stupid cliche romance anime.

She can't breathe. Her newfound (accidental) captive looks around the room - probably to remember where she is - and then settles her eyes on Misaki.

A fraction of a second passes.

"We apologize for the sudden rockiness," says a heavily-processed voice. "It seems that some boulders were piled onto the track. We are not certain who put them there, but there should not be more obstacles. Thank you for your understanding."

A click.

A whole second passes. Then another. 

Slowly, a smile spreads across Kaoru's face, like water filling cracks between stone. "My. When did you appear, little kitten?"

She's always been here, she wants to say. Right next to her, the whole time. "I just got back," Misaki lies. Trying to will away the heat in her face, she pushes herself off the ground. "It figures that as soon as I enter, the train starts jumping."

"How fleeting..." Kaoru says, "As Shakespeare once said, 'The course of true love never did run smooth.' Say, will you assist me?" She holds out a hand, still lying on the ground.

Misaki takes it and pulls her up to her feet without much effort. Her hand is a little callused from the guitar, but otherwise soft and warm - unlike Misaki's own, which is kind of sweaty. She tries to remember that Kaoru's vocabulary is ninety-nine percent flirting, regardless of the subject or target. She also tries to ignore how close they're standing. Unfortunately, she's failing at both. "Are you okay? You fell pretty badly."

"I'm doing wonderfully," Kaoru purrs. Her expression looks a little strained around the edges.

"You're lying! After a fall like that, there have to be some bruises." Abruptly, she realizes she's still holding her hand. She slips hers out to gesture at her abdomen. "Lift up your shirt a little. If you're injured, you shouldn't move too much at the live tomorrow."

"Oh? You're quite bold, asking me to remove my clothes..." Kaoru winks. At Misaki's glare, she lifts her shirt sheepishly. A large, quickly darkening spot is blooming across her back, close to the ribs. It looks painful. Misaki does the lightest possible brush of her finger against it. Kaoru physically crumples, inhaling sharply through her teeth.

"Sorry. Ugh, I knew it." Misaki's hand wavers over Kaoru's, then instead lightly pushes her shoulder towards the door. "Come on, we're asking the suits. If you can even play the guitar like this, you better be standing in one place tomorrow."

"Ahaha... So I can't trick you after all. By the way, is Michelle all right?" Kaoru, changing the subject, looks with worry at the pink bear slumped limply against the turntables.

"She's... asleep. She's a very heavy sleeper. Her, uh.... Her fur cushioned the impact really well, so she should be just fine. We can just leave her."

"Huh. Truly, how fleeting." Kaoru seems to think the explanation is sufficient. She tries to pose with her catchphrase, but the movement bends her back a little and she jerkily stops mid-motion to breathe.

This is not unnoticed. With rising urgency, Misaki insists, "C'mon, we have to go! What if you broke a rib, idiot?" 

"I will, I will." Kaoru hobbles towards the door. Her leg, it turns out, is also battered—not to the extent of her back, but visible. She limps slowly.

She has no choice. With some effort, Misaki sweeps her off her feet, carefully supporting her from under the shoulders and below the knees. She's taller than her, so she's a bit heavier than she would have liked, but Misaki didn't lug that suit around and play sports for nothing.

"What—!" Kaoru yelps, face instantly flushing a bright crimson. Misaki would have spent some time committing it to memory if it wasn't for her own face burning off and the fact that she is literally in need of medical attention.

"I can't risk you falling over again," Misaki attempts to explain.

Kaoru actually laughs. It's a pretty sound, even if she's breathing shallowly. "How gallant of you."

"Yeah, yeah."

 

* * *

 

The suits take Kaoru off of Misaki's hands with startling efficiency and speed. In less than ten minutes of anxiously waiting outside the medical station, a diagnosis is made: bruised ribs. She chooses not to ask why the suits have a medical station on a train. They wouldn't answer.

After another ten minutes, one of the suits comes out and gives her a thumbs-up. She nods respectfully and heads into the room. The bay is tiny, with barely enough space for two cots and a chair. In fact, it's probably the exact same size as the passenger cars, judging from the identical walls. The guitarist is sitting on one of the beds, pressing an ice pack against her side. 

"Hey," Misaki says. "Good that it's not broken, right?"

"Of course! Nothing would be more tragic than the kittens' tears if I were unable to perform." Kaoru sighs, dramatically. With her free hand, she makes a waving motion.

"Isn't you being more seriously injured the tragedy?" Misaki asks. Kaoru opens her mouth to respond. 

Three multicolored girls burst through the door, tumbling over each other into the small room. Misaki presses herself flat against the wall and narrowly avoids being taken with them.

"Kaoru-kun!" Hagumi wails, "Kaoru-kun, don't die!"

Kaoru smiles. "I—"

"Hagumi-chan, I don't think Kaoru-san would die from falling on her side." Kanon says, gently. She pats some dust off of her dress.

"Kaoru can't die!" Kokoro proclaims. "Not before we make the world smile!"

"K...Kokoro-chan..." Kanon's voice is mouse-like. 

"Guys! Please be quiet in the infirmary!" Misaki finally shouts. She realizes, belatedly, that she was louder than all of them. Her face burns.

"Oh!" Hagumi drops to a whisper. "You're right! I'm sorry."

"My bad!" Kokoro says brightly, at her normal volume.

Kanon is inaudible.

 

 

It takes some time for them to finish talking. They reach a consensus (or, rather, Misaki insists) that Kaoru is allowed to perform tomorrow but only if she's sitting on a chair and moving minimally. The only one who objected was Kaoru herself, but Hagumi and Kanon's puppy-dog eyes were enough to make her back down. ...Not that Kanon doesn't always look like a lost baby deer. (Or penguin.)

It's quieter, now. Kaoru's eyes meet Misaki's and then flick away. She runs her tongue over her lips once, quickly. Misaki wouldn't have noticed if she didn't just happen to be looking in its direction. She can understand her nervousness. Kaoru doesn't seem like the type of person who relies on others very often. Misaki doesn't either. She would say it's one of the few things she has in common with her, but she gets a distinct feeling it's not really a correct statement. 

"Kaoru, do you feel better?" Kokoro asks.

"Somewhat," Kaoru responds. Kokoro's face is worried. Unusually so. From the looks of it, Kaoru notices too, because she smiles. "The damage will be but fleeting, with some rest."

"That's great!" Kokoro says, cheerfully. 

"I fell down while running once," Hagumi comments. "My arm hurt for a week, but it hurt more if I didn't take a break. Rest a lot, Kaoru-kun!"

Misaki can barely hear Kanon whispering. "Back later," she picks out. She says something else to Hagumi and Kokoro and pulls them out of the room with her. For some reason, she shoots Misaki a meaningful look. For what, she has no idea. 

The door closes softly. 

"What was that all about?" Misaki sighs.

"It appears the others wish to give us some privacy," Kaoru comments, somehow simultaneously too sultry and too innocently oblivious. Wait, is this why she—? Damn it, Kanon!

"Well, I should be—!" Misaki starts to stand up, but a hand around her wrist stops her. The room felt small with five people inside, but now it feels smaller with two. Kaoru can reach across the gap between the beds with too little effort.

"Can—" Kaoru stutters. Her face turns pink for half a second at the blunder, then she corrects herself. "...I never truly thanked you."

"There's no need," Misaki replies easily. She sits back down, staring at the wall. "I was just... doing what anyone would."

"I don't know about that. Picking someone up is not an easy feat." Kaoru grins with her eyes closed. "And my accursed beauty makes it no easier."

"Well..."

"You're kind, Misaki."

She's getting closer. Or is she? It feels like she is, since Misaki can hardly see anything else in her field of vision. The grip on her wrist slackens, long fingers loosely holding hers. She hums noncommittally.

"Do you believe me?"

"Yeah," She says, over the sound in her ears. 

"Is this okay?" 

"Yeah." She says, feeling another hand on her shoulder. 

It's distracting.

Her chest hurts.

Kaoru moves to the side, brushing her lips against Misaki's cheek. She quickly pulls away and breaks eye contact. "A gift from me to a kitten," She says with a smile. 

Kaoru's hands are trapped between her knees. 

"...Thanks," Misaki murmurs, calm.

She stands up and walks to the door, her hand on the handle.

"...After the concert tomorrow, I'll be waiting backstage, if you want to say anything."

 

* * *

 

Choosing to wait until after a live was an awful idea.

If she could go back in time and backhand herself, she would have. Without a doubt.

Misaki sits in a secluded corner, desperately attempting to clean off the sweat currently soaking through her clothes with a small towel. She coughs too while she's at it, having downed an entire bottle of water a minute ago; she's still trying to clear some of it out of her windpipe. The most likely culprits of her current suffering are the stage lights. They felt like direct blazing sunlight, heating the mascot costume like a kiln. The other four were better off than Misaki, but she could see that they weren't used to it. She saw Kanon stumbling unsteadily offstage, quietly crying "fueee". She was quickly escorted by the suits as soon as she was invisible to the audience. It looked very much like a group of government agents disappearing an inconvenient witness. ...Of course, Kanon is in the break room, not a thousand meters into the ocean. The suits took Michelle to the break room too. 

"Hello?" A voice calls. It has a characteristic smooth deep tone.

"I'm over h—" Misaki tries. She starts hacking and wheezing, the water clearly not yet content with its attempts to murder.

"Misaki? Are you okay?" In a moment, Kaoru's head peeks around the corner. She rushes to her side in a few long strides.

"Yeah, I'm—I'm okay." The evil has been defeated. "Just choked on some water. The stage was really hot today, wasn't it?" 

"It was just as sweltering as the gaze of the kittens made reality," Kaoru says. "Were you there?"

Misaki bites down a sigh. "Yeah, I was." 

"I'm afraid I did not notice you..." Kaoru's eyebrows raise worriedly.

"It's okay. I... wasn't in a very visible place." Completely invisible, in fact, within a bear suit. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

Kaoru's mouth opens, then closes, hesitating. The red tailcoat and the bowtie of her stage outfit are slung over her arm, a towel around her shoulders. She holds her hat in her hands. Misaki watches and waits. 

Her eyes are drawn to little details she wishes she could ignore: a few open buttons on her dress shirt, a drop of sweat sliding down her temple, the slight flush of her face.

"There was." Kaoru says, finally. "Misaki, I—"

"I love you."

"—think you stress too much."

...

They stare at each other.

Frozen solid. The gravity of the situation, of the level of misunderstanding, feels like it takes an hour to set in. Misaki can feel fire creeping up her neck. Her hands, very slowly, float up to cover her face. Did she say that? Did she misconstrue a fellow band member's innocent concern for something so self-centered? She seriously considers knocking Kaoru unconscious and then herself. No, that wouldn't solve the problem. They would both need concussions, and Kaoru can't afford to lose any more brain cells. 

Her only option must be—

"I," Kaoru says, suddenly. Her voice cracks. 

Misaki stops breathing. She looks up.

Kaoru's face is bright red. "I... I like you, too."

...

Misaki needs to say something. 

"Why?"

Except that.

Kaoru looks shocked. "Why not?"

Misaki gapes. Internally, she starts listing: She doesn't tell people things unless it's negative. She's indecisive. Until recently, she was ashamed of being part of the band. She ruins the mood when everyone else is having a good time. At this very second she probably reeks of sweat. Her fashion sense is at times questionable. She only uses her hairpin for one third of her bangs. She overthinks things. Her own wool felts embarrass her too much to keep. Sayo, a newbie, beat her at her own damn sport that one time. She—She fell for an overly theatrical guitarist with the intelligence of a brick but still way out of her league—

"Misaki?"

"...Yes?"

Kaoru kisses her. It's light, brief. Little more than a brush, really. Bizarrely, it causes Misaki’s mind to screech to a halt, almost rocketing her out the proverbial windshield but thankfully saved by a proverbial seat belt and airbag. Where was she going with this? Oh, right. She feels like she drunkenly crashed into a tree. 

When Kaoru pulls away, it's almost disappointing. In her heart, she wants to feel it again, that fluttering in her chest. Kaoru says, quietly, "You have so little faith in yourself. I wish you could see what I can."

"Then," Misaki says, bravely. "Then, show me, and... I'll try to meet it."

"You will," Kaoru smiles, then steals another kiss.

 

* * *

 

Later, Kaoru admitted she didn't fully realize her own feelings until quite literally the moment of. If she did, she would have said it first, she swears, instead of obliviously making the situation look... different. 

(Misaki figures that she's telling the truth. For all her dumb misquoting and dramatics, her emotional senses can be fairly good sometimes.)

**Author's Note:**

> scrapped line: Chisato sent her regards via a text to Kaoru: "Congratulations. You can leave me alone now."


End file.
